Monday, June 28, 2010

What a mess with the oil spill

I could post more pictures of the oil spill, but this tells you what is going on at the beaches along the Gulf. These are taken in Pensacola, Florida and I can only imagine what our beaches look like since the rig is directly south of us. It's really sad, but if the tropical storm becomes a hurricane, this could push more oil onto our shores and into the marshlands. It will take years to get rid of this mess that could have been avoided with proper inspections. I come from a family of oil field workers and I could tell you some stories. My brother was injured and has brain damage from falling off a 7 ft. ledge on a rig and landed directly on his head. Safety issues were brought up too late for him, but all rigs have to have a rail around them 4 ft off the ground. By the time they got my brother to the hospital, he already lost a lot of oxygen and ended up with brain damage and has seizures, so he is on medication since 1973. He stayed in ICU for 3 months and really should have died from the injuries and lack of oxygen, but he is stable and that is the brother who is staying with me. He never filed for disability because he wanted to work and he did until last year when it became impossible to keep a job due to the seizures. When I look at him, I thank God that I am a whole lot better off than he is. I wouldn't want that to happen to me. When I was in the hospital in 2003, and had a 106 fever, they were afraid that I might have brain damage, but have yet to scan my brain---go figure. Please pray for all the Gulf Coast residents and the workers who are out there trying to contain the oil from reaching in further inland. We only live about 160 miles from the coast and that is too close for comfort if the rain picks up the oil like it did in Gulfport Mississippi. They said it rained oil last week and showed pictures of it. Have a nice day. Love and hugs, Pat